Guardiola: ‘The 4-0 against Osasuna is a very good step forward but we still need to go to Pamplona’
Guardiola: ‘The 4-0 against Osasuna is a very good step forward but we still need to go to Pamplona’
Guardiola: ‘We still have the memory of the 5-0 over Betis and then suffering in the return leg fresh in our minds. The tie will be over after we’ve played the next 90 minutes’
Guardiola: ‘This morning Messi had a stomach ache, he was in pain, cold and had a small fever, that’s why we decided that he should stay home. Afterward, he called and said he was feeling better. This morning we wanted to announce that he didn’t train and that he’d been ruled out. However, I left him on the bench, we hadn’t closed out the game and I decided to put him in for half an hour. We know that we’re a little bit better with Messi.”
Guardiola: ‘The pitch has been in bad condition since the beginning of the season, and we’ve been coping. We decided that enough was enough, that’s why we asked Osasuna to switch the order of the games. However, in the last couple of days the pitch has improved. You can tell by the color, the lack of peeling and it doesn’t come up as much. Hopefully it will improve further. We had no intention of bothering anyone (switching the order of the games), especially Osasuna. If the pitch had been terrible today, the machines would be rolling it up right now’
Guardiola: ‘This Sunday’s La Liga match against Espanyol will be complicated and difficult, as always. They have been doing things really well these past couple of years, they have an excellent manager, they have aggressive young players and they have game. What we must do is recuperate, because it’s a vital game for us and for the future of the league’
– I like how Guardiola respects all opponents in press conferences but, let’s face it, I am not expecting a 5-0 defeat against Osasuna in the return leg…
As for Messi, I’m happy he recovered but I don’t feel his presence was needed last night. Cesc did a tremendous job as a false nine, scoring a double in just 18 minutes. Don’t get me wrong, La Pulga obviously improves our team but, luckily for Barça, other players are able to step up and take goal-scoring responsibility.
ANYWAY, A FANTASTIC 4-0 WIN WHICH VIRTUALLY QUALIFIES BARçA FOR THE NEXT ROUND (QUITE PROBABLY AGAINST REAL MADRID!!!)
